Rev. Master P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, a Zen Buddhist Master in the Serene Reflection Meditation [Soto Zen] tradition, was born in England in 1924. Rev. Master Jiyu first became a Buddhist in the Theravadin school, but was later introduced to Rinzai Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki in London. She was at that time a member of the London Buddhist Society, where she also lectured. She studied at the Trinity College of Music, London, and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Music from Durham University.

In 1962, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett was ordained into the Chinese Buddhist Sangha in Malaysia by the Very Reverend Seck Kim Seng, Archbishop of Malacca. She then proceeded to Japan to study in the Soto Zen tradition at the invitation of the Very Reverend Keido Chisan Koho Zenji, Chief Abbot of Dai Hon Zan Soji-ji, one of the two chief training monasteries of Soto Zen. She received the Dharma Transmission from Koho Zenji in 1963 and was later certified by him as a Roshi (Zen Master). She also received a First-Kyoshi and a Sei Degree (roughly equivalent to a Master and a Doctor of Divinity in Buddhism). She held several positions during her years in Japan including that of Foreign Guestmaster of Soji-ji. She was also Abbess of her own temple in Mie Prefecture.

Koho Zenji's sincere wish was that Soto Zen Buddhism be successfully transmitted to the West by a Westerner. He worked very hard to make it possible for Rev. Master Jiyu to train in Japan and, after his death, she left Japan in order to carry out his wish. She first went to San Francisco in November 1969 on a lecture tour. A year later she moved to Mount Shasta, California, and founded Shasta Abbey. In 1978, she founded the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives .

For a full description of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett's many publications and taped lectures, please see Shasta Abbey Press at www.obcon.org

Rev. Master Jiyu died November 6, 1996. The work of the Dharma Cloud Trust is respectfully dedicated to her memory, out of gratitude for her great compassion.